The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-05
Avarice is What the Fakir Banks Upon.

! Avarice is What the Fakir Banks Upon.
From the Nes0 York Sun.
1.-THE foundation on which every sharper
works is avarice,n said the same fakir, after
| lighting a fresh cigar, land he is as apt TO
catch the citizens of big town as the farm
er living by himself. was attached to a
circus for several seasons, and my statistics
proved that the biggest share of my money
! came from townspeople. l had wheel or
fortune, two or three patent medicines,
| prize drawing, etc, and | have taken more
money at once out of a lawyer or merchant
than out of a countryman. 1t is curious
how all sorts of people will H.
vest their money on n wheel of fortune.
There never was one made which didn't
| give the operator rs per cent. advantage to
begin with, and by trickery this advantage
is increased Is or 20 per cent. You must
know that the operator has things so fixed
| that he can stop the wheel at will In a
town in Rhode Island a member of the
| Common Council, who was accounted one
of the sharpeSt men in the locality left 5000
! with me before he quit my wheel. If there
is any railing or dice shaking it is all fixed,
| of course. In the prize drawings, you may
find gold and silver watches and sums of
money displayed, but these cannot by any
| possibility be drawn.
II know several men who have grown
rich and retired from business on the sale of
liver invigorators and consumption cures.
Both remedies are made Of the same mate
rails to-wit: Water, whisky and one or two
extracts. In Dayton, o., a fakir connected
with our show sold 1870 bottles of liver invig-
orator and 20S bottles of consumption cure
! i'll four hours, and not over ono-quarter of
the lot was sold to farmers. When you
| appeal to mans avarice you hit him
hard; when you get him to thinking his
liver is out of order, or that he is con-
pNaNran RARxr.A A.Irg ia lnCN
have seen the glass bulbs filed with reddish
fluid which falirs claim to test the blood
withl Any one of average sense must
know they are frauds, but | have seen the
best physicians in town pay theisten cents
with the rest. About the only thing con
nected with the outside of a circus which is
not fraud ON the public is the electric bat
terry. That's all right, and the owner will
give you all your money calls for, and some
| times more
"Now, take the throe-card monte business
or thimble rigging. Those two games have
been worked Tor the last fifty years ell over
the United States, and the public has been
warned against them tens of thoua.Uis IF
times. They are still the most pgohtable
games TO be worked. Even old gamblers
are enticed TO bet. Several years ago,
while | was taking vacation at health
resort in Wisconsin, a couple OF the frater-
nifty called for my assistance to help work
farmer. The intended victim was sharp,
keen man. about so years old. He had been
everywhere and was up on all lodges He
had been tried with the gold brick and treas
ure lodges, but had refused TO bite. We
held council and decided upon plan. He
had three or four fine horses for sale, and
the trio of us drove out to his place to make
purchase. We were Illinois stock raisers
and horsemen, and it was apparent that he
sized us up for sharp fellows One of my
companions, whom will call Jim, did most
of the talking, and he alone desired TO do the
buying. Jack and myself sat down on an
old hay rack In the barnyard, and scarcely
noticed the horses as they were paraded up
and down in front of us. At the proper
time Jack took out his cards and began 10
show me how TO play them. bet him
that / could pick out the card, and
we began to talk in loud
tones and attract attention. The
farmer finally came over. He knew all
about the game and smiled in pity ut the
idea of being caught, but in less than ten
minutes, and that without any urging from
any of us, he had bet and won $40. That
was the entering wedge. He was allowed
to win $50, and then cleaned out of $40.
His spirit of avarice was now thoroughly
al oused, and I'm telling you the solemn
truth when | say that he put up the horses
and walked into the house and brought out
with greedy eyes and pale lips aud won and
lost until we had his last dollar. There was
no explosion when he had parted with bis
last gold piece On the contrary, he volun-
teered the statement that all had been fair
and above board. An afterclap always ac-
companies such events, however, and we
got out of the State just as he had secured
warrants for our arrest.
The safest game worked in the country
to-day is the counterfeit money dodge, and
goodly number Of fakirs are rolling UP
fortunes by it. supply myself with lot
of new greenbacks-ones, twos and fives-
and then appear in some small towns as an
agent, or detective, or stranger seeking
recreation. 1t requires only few days 70
size up the people, In every town OF !, 000
inhabitants there are half a dozen men
who are ready to deal in the queer IL II can
be done safely. The money l have with
me is, you understand, perfectly good.
When l have selected my man exhibited
the money as counterfeit.
am quietly supplying the stuff
TO few good fellows at SC
much ON the dollar. Before he buys give
him bill to take TO the post Office or bank.
1t passes without question, and he is clated.
! am ready TO leave a dollar bill with him
as a sample, but If he gives me an order 10
be filled two weeks later he must pay me q
certain sum in advance, say $40 on the hun
dred. To prove TO him that | have his in
terests and safety at heart, produce a
paper in which he makes me his financial
agent 70 receive and receipt for all
moneys. Then give him my note of hand
due some weeks ahead, for whatever money
he pays me, and he rests assured that the
law cannot trouble him. His order IL never
filed, of course. Suppose he kicks. He has
given me power of attorney. have not
had u dollar of the queer in my pos
session. The document is an etfectual bar 10
his recovering or prosecuting i have seen
two or three tests of il, and the fakir came
out with flying colors In each instance. In
ninety-nine cases out of 100, however, the
victim loses whatever he has advanced
without a thought of raising row. He has
been caught in bad company. He intended
to swindle his neighbors. He is amenable
10 the law. He is glad enough to let the
matter drop and say no more about IL, and
the falir goes from pasture TO pasture and
rolls up a fat bank account. When you
read in some newspaper OF the sharpness
and cuteness OF the American people, just
! remember what 1 have told Won No peo-